One Hundred and Forty-Two Years Ago Today

… Or how to find subjects for a blog post.

As I hit publish today, it’s awe-inspiring to think of how much genius has existed over the millenniums. Just the fact that we have language and have words to communicate our most complex thoughts and feelings is pretty cool. We can learn and we can teach, with words. Wow.

And as I type, another genius invention helps me by automatically highlighting my spelling errors. And as I look around this computer screen and see this page creator with the myriad of editing choices, all available with a click, well… I am duly awed by the technology behind our world. The internet. Wow, right?

And more and newer ways to communicate is about to be unleashed upon our society. However, many predict that we may not be fans of the next wave of “communicating”. I will be blogging about this new technology soon. Stay tuned! In fact, join my list right now if you aren’t already on it.

But, first, let’s get back to this important holiday. On this day, March 7th, 1876, a patent was granted to Alexander Graham Bell for “transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically.” A few days later, he uttered the words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you”.

It’s noteworthy that the quickest way he could be sure that it worked was to summon his assistant. He hadn’t created a second device yet. Mr. Watson couldn’t yet reply to his boss.

Do you still make phone calls?

While the telephone has served us well, it also was not universally accepted. Bell refused to have a phone in his study. He relied on his staff to collect his messages. He felt it was an intrusion and too distracting to answer a phone and engage in conversation at the whim of the caller. He was right, of course.

And then someone invented the answering machine. Whew…no more running across the room to the phone that was connected to a cord and requiring us to linger at the phone to have conversations.

Oh, wait! Some of you never had to do that. (LOL…I am feeling old “again”.) It was not until the early 80’s that the first cordless phones were starting to enter households. Some of you reading this think I am talking about a mobile phone. No. Those were still being invented.

The first mobile phone was gigantic by today’s standards. We have come a long way, baby!

And nowadays, since I still have, not one, but two landlines, I have had to start telling people that my phone numbers cannot accept text messages. It’s a “landline” I say, and increasingly people cock their head to one side and then I see the light bulb go off. “Oh, right, landline. Don’t you have a cell phone?”

Until 2015, I didn’t have a cell phone. I still rarely use it for calls. I use it mostly to listen to podcasts. Expensive “free” podcasts. But I use my cell number it on all my websites. Living in the EARLY time zone on Maui sends any 3 am phone calls to my cell phone’s voicemail.

But back to Mr. Bell’s Holiday! And how to find subjects for a blog post.

As I thought about what to highlight in this article, I thought about several relationships to this non-official holiday including subjects like, “How to stay focused”, “What is still yet to be invented in the art world?”, or “The Value of Curiosity”.

See how this “blogging” works? See how you can just about take any subject, like a weird “holiday” and turn it into a blog. In my case a blog about running a small business, but if you want to turn this holiday into a post about art, I think it’s possible.

To prove it, I just googled (another great “invention!”) and found this very smart quote from the great man himself, “The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action.” How’s that for a subject to share with your fans and collectors. What does it mean to you to take action? What stands in the way of you taking action? Put that in a blog post. It’s as good a subject as any out there.

It’s your turn

Consider this: A blog can happen for every piece of art you create. Simply answer these types of questions: What was it that sparked the use of a certain color. Where were you when you had a brainstorm and wanted to race to your studio to begin a new piece? What was the message you felt compelled to share? When did you know it was ready to find a home? Why do you want this piece to find a good home?

And then, share your post. Send out an email to everyone with a link to your post. Include (to start) friends, family, collectors and others who have an interest in your art and your life as an artist. If you have never sent (or it’s been a while since you last sent) an email to your list, then ask them to unsubscribe, but make this email the most compelling and curiosity-arousing email in their box.

For a few of you, this is simply confirming what you do all the time and do very well. You know who you are.

For the rest of you, it’s time for you to communicate with your collectors. They really want to know what is going on in your world. You have no excuses now that you have read this post. In fact, there is another unofficial holiday coming that will be the perfect one to celebrate. Friday, March 16th, is “Everything you do is right day.”

Go for it. Reach out and share the good news: everything you do is right!

Please Share! It matters to other artists!

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4 Comments

Thanks for your blog post. It reminded me of myself about a year ago when I was asking you what can I write about in my blog? I found it hard to generate new ideas. Now it doesn’t seem so difficult – I’m always working in m studio, always producing new work and part of my brain is thinking, “I’d better photograph this or video that or jot that idea down as it might be useful for a future blog post.” It takes a little time but it’s quite fun thinking how you want to include your subscribers in what you’re doing and help them to appreciate and connect with the finished work. Thanks for all your encouragement!

Great blog post McKenna (as always) it has given me a bit of impetus since I think I write two blogs a year I’m that stuck for subject matter. My main stumbling block though is that you drum it into us over and over again how it is all about THEM. All about our collectors and followers not about us. So how do we blog about our creative journey with each piece we work on and where our inspiration comes from and not make it all me, me, me? This is the part that stops me writing.

AHA! I am so glad you asked that question, Samantha. If you are using the “you” word, that is part of the beginning. So let’s say, you are writing about “aussie critters” that you have intimate relationships with and just created a new piece all about a kangaroo family. People need to be entertained, embraced and enlightened. It what makes us care about the world around us. You can write about YOUR experience and they (the readers) will be voyeurs of YOUR experience. But if your experience is about the very things that your collectors and admirers love about your art, the fact that you are talking about the things that they “love” about you and your art makes it “all about them.” You might start a post that says something like, “Have you ever had the chance to look deeply in the eyes of a kangaroo?” The title might be, “As seen through the eyes of a Kangaroo.”